After setting several franchise records this season, the Denver Nuggets finally won their NBA title in history. This Monday, the team defeated the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the North American Basketball League Finals, closed the series 4-1 and lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy in front of their fans at the Ball Denver Arena.
THE @nuggets they are the 2022-23 NBA champions! pic.twitter.com/8Kb1HZIkaj
—NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2023
As happened throughout the season, the last game of the final was marked by another great performance by Nikola Jokic, who amassed 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists. The “Joker”, as he is called by fans, was chosen as the MVP of the Finals. On the other side, the highlight was Jimmy Butler, with 21 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds.
The Nuggets open with a good lead in the last quarter, but a good sequence from Miami, combined with a foul that has generated many complaints from the hosts, has allowed the turnaround. In the final stretch Denver rallied and took advantage of their opponents’ failures and got back into the lead. With less than a minute to go, a bad pass gave the home side a three-point lead. The Heat tried Jimmy Butler but couldn’t tie it up.
The title, the first for a Western franchise since 1979, caps an incredible year for the Denver Nuggets. The team finished the regular season at the top of its conference with 53 wins. In the first matchup of the playoffs, they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 4 games to 1. In the semifinals, they left behind the Phoenix Suns with a score of 4 to 2. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, by Lebron James, in the conference finals they won with Minimum number of games.
The Miami Heat, who have already won the NBA three times, finished second for the fourth time in their history. Prior to this season, they were defeated in the 2011, 2014 and 2020 Finals.
Source: Terra
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